McAuliffe + Carroll Architects

Buildings We Like: Bikestation Long Beach

Downtown Long Beach was deserted on a Tuesday morning, but the transit hub had some activity. There I found Bikestation A really cool, smart, building for use by bike commuters. Designed by Fernando Vasquez Studio, it is right next to the Blue Line station, which runs along street level at the Long Beach terminus. Surrounded by a garden the building is a glass envelope shielded from the sun with vertical aluminum extrudes:

Pow- front door:

The inner ramp leads up to the upper floor storage area:

It looks like it could be modulized for other sites. Nice to see:

jm

Flaming Cactus...

... is not the name of that "Nuggets" band, but an environmental artwork in Astor Place, New York. It was installed by the Animus Arts Collective on several light poles around the intersection.

Who knew zipties came in colors other then black and white? 

 

 

JM

Habitat House in Trenton

We just completed our plans for a new prototype house to be built by the Trenton affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. Breaking with their previous direction of a more suburban model, the Board of Directors and the Construction Committee both agreed to let us design a new, simpler model that is fast to construct and is very energy efficient. The exterior shell is constructed of 6 1/2" Structural Insulated Panels (or SIPs) which will provide a tight and well insulated enclosure. The use of SIPs should also decrease the overall construction time and allow Habitat to complete more houses in a year.
 This initial design is for a detached single family residence, and later iterations of this will include attached single family (or duplex) and a row-house model. This project is being sponsored by Bloomberg and we hope to start construction this summer, pending approval by the City of Trenton. Check back for updates!

RC

Buildings We Like- BCJ

We are going to try a regular entry to our blog by highlighting buildings that either impress us, we find simply striking, or blow our minds.

First up are our designs by our friends at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson who have been designing Apple Stores for many years. I have had the pleasure of visiting all the flagship stores in New York, and it is hard to say which one is my favorite.

The first one was the conversion of an abandoned post office on Spring Street in the Soho area. That's Ethan on the bridge:

The next location is probably the most well known- 5th Avenue at the Plaza. If you have a craving for Mac @ midnight (I don't mean mac 'n cheese), this is the place:

A riot of glass & reflection:

On 14th street, and old warehouse building was converted to the next store. I think the building renovation is as equally spectacular as the stair. The view from Pop Burger- delicious:

I still wonder how dropped gloves are removed from the central glass support:

Cal on the bridge:

The newest store on on Broadway in the Upper West Side. These stores get more elegent, striking and simple with each new one:

JM

A House in Trenton

Last week the Tranton Chapter of Habitat-For-Humanity received approvals from the Trenton Zoning Commission for a small, infill, house project that we designed for them. It will be their first house constructed using SIP's and we are hoping it becomes their new "standard".

Here is the street view showing the covered, recessed, entry door:

The facade will be brick veneer and is capped with a modern interpretation of a traditional cornice line.

In the rear we have designed a simple, covered, porch off the kitchen:

JM

Late Community Service News

January is the time for reorganizations of municipal boards and commissions in Pennsylvania. The Newtown Historic Architecture Review Board (HARB) unanimously selected Jim McAuliffe as the Chair for this year. It will be the fourth year Jim has Chaired the Board.

Checking my notes I see that my first HARB meeting, as Board Architect, was in April of 1998. I do still get something out of the meetings, besides a sense of community service, and I appreciate my fellow members support.

 

JM

Urban Infill Astoria Style

While this project is on hold for now, we look forward to it starting up again soon. On an extremely narrow lot with a significant slope down away from the sidewalk in the Astoria section of Queens, we maximized the zoning restrictions to create a new apartment building. Both the fron and rear facades will be glazed:

There are two duplex apartments each with two bedrooms:

The parking is located under the building:

 And the roof will be used by tenants as outdoor deck spaces:

JM

Clinton Lofts @ 200 Hamilton

We have been working on the Clinton Lofts project since late 2008 and it has gone thru many iterations and a couple of name changes as well. The current design, which recently received preliminary planning board approval from the City of Trenton, will have 3000 sf of street level retail, three live/work spaces of 1200 sf each and 12 residential units on the upper floors. The third and fourth floor units will be two-level with roof decks and two or three bedrooms.

Here is a photo of the site currently:

Here are some early concept images for the project:

And, no, there is not a heli-pad in the project....

The project will be incorporating a large number of sustainable features and will be pursuing LEED certification under the LEED for Homes Program.

And finally, here are images of the current design, which hopefully will be close to what will be built:

At this point, the residential units will be for sale and will be quite spectacular, with a two story living room and exposed stair cases, modern kitchens and baths.

The project is being developed by two Trenton based groups: The DeRosa Group and Urban Word, LLC. Check back here on occasion for updates on the project and a coming marketing/sales website.

RC

To Be A Guest Critic

Last week I had the pleasure of my first experience as an invited architect at a design crit at my alma mater, Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn New York. They are not called 'crits' anymore, design review is the term. Pratt's School of Architecture is located off the main campus in the former Aldelphi University building now called Higgins Hall. In my day, it was a worn but sturdy romanesque structure with creaky wood floors, harsh florescent lighting, a bad but convenient coffee shop and mix 'n match furnishings. Thanks to a nasty fire in the early 90's, it was renovated and transformed, by Steven Holl and Rogers Marvel Architects, into a spectacular architecture school. The floors, however, still creak which was strangely comforting.

Richard Scherr's second year class of undergraduates were a wonderfully diverse group of 20 year olds, and their project was a small kindergarten building on Staten Island. My other peers included Theo David and Adam Kushner. It was interesting to see how strong a role computers play in students presentations, not always for the best. The same for models- they all use laser machines now- most in wood but one in plexiglass. I guess the days of foam core and chip board are over. I was, however, impressed by the quality of their efforts. And it was wonderful to see how many women there are now at school. I think the profession will be in good hands in the future.

JM

Urban Renewal in Trenton, circa 1960

You never know what you will find when you clean out the corners of the basement. I found some 'stuff' from the original owners of my home wrapped in newspaper from 1960. The title of this article caught my eye. As I read it, it became clear that what Mr. Schermer was warning about, actually happened. And this was 8 years before the Trenton Riots changed this city for the worse.